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I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

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Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#101

Post by deeg »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #19

> Every day hike in Zion Canyon is kind of like waiting in line at Disney World. You’re waiting in line in a magical place, but you’re still waiting in line. You ask a dead-eyed park ranger to recommend you a less popular hike, and he spits in your face. There is no such thing as a less-popular hike in Zion Canyon. You will wait in line on the trail and you will be grateful you piece of shit. Yeah, you can safely dis…

Agreed. I've been to zion many times and the rangers have never been anything but helpful. A while back a ranger recommended a hike with few people and now I do it every visit.

It is crowded, which is a bummer, but still a great experience.

Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#102

Post by colejohnson66 »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #19

> Every day hike in Zion Canyon is kind of like waiting in line at Disney World. You’re waiting in line in a magical place, but you’re still waiting in line. You ask a dead-eyed park ranger to recommend you a less popular hike, and he spits in your face. There is no such thing as a less-popular hike in Zion Canyon. You will wait in line on the trail and you will be grateful you piece of shit. Yeah, you can safely dis…

We once did a hike from Chamberlain's Ranch down. No one else for 10+ miles until we reached the switchbacks at the end. It really depends on where you go.

Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#103

Post by unzadunza »

microtonal wrote: post #50
jackconsidine wrote: post #13

> Can you hike in the Grand Canyon? Yes, technically. You can walk along the rim, but the view won’t change; same damn canyon on one side, same damn parking lot on the other. There are trails that go down into the canyon, but they’re a trap. They are featureless steep inclines formed into endless switchbacks, and when they finally end, there’s nothing to do except go back up, which will be just as boring but three ti…

We went a lot to the US in my teenage years. I have been to the Grand Canyon two or three times (you start losing counts at some point). One time we were there with our family and my aunt/uncle + kids. We hiked down the canyon because my dad was sort of the group leader and he goes on such adventures without necessarily thinking it through. So we went down with a small amount of water and food. I heard sometime years…

I also did one of the hikes to the CO river in the 90s with 3 friends when we were in college. We got off to a late start so jogged down a good deal of the way (dumb). We carried a 1 gallon water jug each (not even close to enough). We had no extra clothing (dumb). Two of us (me being one) made it out that day. The other two didn't. A group of smart hikers with water filters and iodine tablets found them belly up on the path in the direct sunlight. I'm certain they would have died if the hikers didn't give them tablets, water and emergency blankets. Man we were dumb.

Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#104

Post by quercusa »

sudosteph wrote: post #36

State parks are where it's at. But love the Gatlinburg aside. It's like Myrtle Beach, but worse. The Blue Ridge mountains have amazing natural beauty for miles in every direction. So many great towns too - Blowing Rock, Boone, Asheville, Maggie Valley, (hopefully Chimney Rock will be back on that list someday). Why anyone would pick Gatlinburg to visit is beyond me.

I haven't been in decades but there seemed to be the world's highest concentration of candle shops. Maybe people are looking for fancy candles.

Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#106

Post by nepthar »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #19

> Every day hike in Zion Canyon is kind of like waiting in line at Disney World. You’re waiting in line in a magical place, but you’re still waiting in line. You ask a dead-eyed park ranger to recommend you a less popular hike, and he spits in your face. There is no such thing as a less-popular hike in Zion Canyon. You will wait in line on the trail and you will be grateful you piece of shit. Yeah, you can safely dis…

I think this might be rage bait.

Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#107

Post by colordrops »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #19

> Every day hike in Zion Canyon is kind of like waiting in line at Disney World. You’re waiting in line in a magical place, but you’re still waiting in line. You ask a dead-eyed park ranger to recommend you a less popular hike, and he spits in your face. There is no such thing as a less-popular hike in Zion Canyon. You will wait in line on the trail and you will be grateful you piece of shit. Yeah, you can safely dis…

I think it's mostly to tongue in cheek.

Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#109

Post by fredophile »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #19

> Every day hike in Zion Canyon is kind of like waiting in line at Disney World. You’re waiting in line in a magical place, but you’re still waiting in line. You ask a dead-eyed park ranger to recommend you a less popular hike, and he spits in your face. There is no such thing as a less-popular hike in Zion Canyon. You will wait in line on the trail and you will be grateful you piece of shit. Yeah, you can safely dis…

I've been to most of the places he said were bad and I totally agree that you can ignore what he says. Shortly after talking about how bad Zion is for the crowds he says that Capitol Reef is also terrible. I thought Capitol Reef was great. It's a lot like Zion but without the crowds.

He also dismissed a few parks that I think are ideal for families with young children. Petrified forest has lots of interesting short hikes that you can do with small children. They also have a really nice ice cream shop with great views. The fact that you can do short hikes to amazing views is part of what makes Arches nice. If you want a longer hike drive next door to Canyonlands which is also fantastic.

Re: I went to America's worst national parks so you don't have to

#110

Post by pokstad »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #19

> Every day hike in Zion Canyon is kind of like waiting in line at Disney World. You’re waiting in line in a magical place, but you’re still waiting in line. You ask a dead-eyed park ranger to recommend you a less popular hike, and he spits in your face. There is no such thing as a less-popular hike in Zion Canyon. You will wait in line on the trail and you will be grateful you piece of shit. Yeah, you can safely dis…

I just went to Zion last week. There was an hour long wait to get on the shuttles due to crowds. The River Walk trail to the Narrows was so congested you would bump into people. The Emerald pools was packed with people despite being a 500’ climb. It’s a very popular park during spring break.
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